The night before the promotion

Chapter 103: Chasing the Evildoers
8 month 30 day.

Zhou Si stood quietly in the corner of the courtyard. He was still wearing the familiar white coat, with a blank expression on his face and his body standing upright, as straight as an upright spear.

After a few days of adjustment, Zhou Si gradually adapted to this new body. According to Zuo Zhi, this incarnation body is of the same model as his, and is absolutely at the forefront of the world in terms of various functions and sensory experiences.

Zhou Si did not deny this point. This perfect incarnation body not only fully imitated human senses such as touch and smell, it even had a certain taste ability.

But because the incarnation's belly only contained machinery instead of a stomach, it could not eat and could only simply lick to determine the target's taste.

Although he has used it for some time, Zhou Si still finds it difficult to give a reasonable evaluation of this incarnation body.

The feeling of being completely immersed in it, like... a transaction.

Zhou Si lost some of his senses. This loss made him no longer able to perceive the familiar world, and even caused him to feel a strange sense of strangeness and alienation.

But correspondingly, Zhou Si no longer felt muscle fatigue, and his daily life gradually opened up a huge gap with ordinary people.

For example, Zhou Si can run at a speed that is unattainable for ordinary people. He will be safe and sound even if he falls from a height of dozens of meters. If the restrictions are removed, one punch of his is enough to dent an iron door.

Just like the superhero in the movies, Zhou Si has a strong body of steel.

But Zhou Si was not happy about this. After all, this was just a shell, not his true self.

The real Zhou Si was like a corpse soaked in formalin, stagnant in the glowing solution, relying on expensive equipment to maintain his barely-there life.

"As long as you can solve this case, Shenwei Technology will provide you with a longevity solution for the rest of your life for free... In other words, you will live forever, Zhou Si, even if you are in this miserable state."

A few days ago, shortly after Zhou Si woke up, Zuo Zhi visited Zhou Si and made a promise to him.

"But who can say for sure that this appearance is not a form of evolution?"

Zuo Zhi smiled and patted Zhou Si's shoulder. Under the bionic silicone layer, he felt a hard metal touch.

"If you don't like the way you look, we will also cooperate with Shouheng Life Sciences. With their medical level, your body may still be able to be healed."

Zuo Zhi said in a exaggerated way, "Of course, you don't have to worry about the staggering treatment costs. Everything will be paid for by Shenwei Technology."

Zhou Si did not respond. He understood that all of Zuo Zhi's goodwill was based on a prerequisite, which was to find out the truth of the mystery.

If Zhou Si failed, all Zuo Zhi's promises would be nothing but empty promises. Moreover, to a certain extent, he was being blackmailed by Zuo Zhi, just like those incarnated slaves imprisoned in the water tank.

Perhaps the only difference between Zhou Si and those poor incarnated slaves is that Zhou Si's treatment and working environment are much better than theirs.

He didn't think it was something to be happy about.

"Zhou Si!"

Zhou Si turned his head and saw Ruan Linrui walking quickly through the crowd towards him.

Zhou Si was not surprised by her arrival. Relying on the various functions of this incarnation body, Zhou Si had already noticed her arrival when Ruan Linrui was more than ten meters away from him.

This incarnation body is not only the vehicle for Zhou Si to travel in the human world, but judging from its various performance configurations, Zhou Si believes that this incarnation body is fully capable of being included in the ranks of armed incarnations.

Ruan Linrui looked Zhou Si up and down carefully and said, "You look much better."

"I guess so. I've barely adapted to this new body."

Zhou Si was just trying to be perfunctory with Ruan Linrui, his false tone and expression were completely false, and Ruan Linrui couldn't see through it.

It has been a few days since he started to adjust to his new body, but Zhou Si still has an indescribable discomfort with his new body.

Rather than saying that there was some kind of gap between the soul and the body, Zhou Si felt that his soul was trapped in a narrow box, where it could only curl up helplessly and could not stretch out.

Like a larva trapped in a solid cocoon.

"That's good, as long as you get used to it."

As expected, Ruan Linrui did not notice Zhou Si's deception. She kept mumbling to herself, with a hint of sadness that was hard to hide in her eyes.

Zhou Si saw it, but pretended he knew nothing.

It was strange that Zhou Si himself did not have much emotional fluctuations about the tragic fate he suffered... Perhaps it was because he felt that he had died once.

After waking up a few days ago, Zhou Si took about half an hour to accept his current situation - a broken body that relied on equipment to survive.

There was no confusion or sadness, and Zhou Si did not even have any pessimistic thoughts about his future life. It might also be that Zhou Si's mind was now filled with various mysteries, and he had no other energy to care about his personal problems.

Zhou Si just wanted to solve the case and then have a good sleep. As for what happened next, he would deal with it after he woke up.

Ruan Linrui's thoughts were completely different from Zhou Si's. She was full of pity and empathy for Zhou Si, and she could often be seen sitting in front of Zhou Si... or to be more precise, in front of the body soaked in the solution, sitting in deep thought.

Sometimes she would stare for a long time, as if in a trance; sometimes she would wipe away her tears silently, falling into an uncontrollable sadness.

When he peeked into this scene, Zhou Si had a strange illusion. He wanted to tell Ruan Linrui that he was not there, but here. But when he thought about it carefully, Zhou Si suddenly realized that he was not in this body, but in the solution that Ruan Linrui was staring at.

In traditional concepts, an individual's identity is often closely linked to the body, and is largely defined by the individual's physical characteristics, genetic information, and social roles.

However, in the age of avatar bodies, the body is no longer fixed; it becomes replaceable, transformable, and even completely virtualized.

Real and fake, even Zhou Si would be confused and filled with anxiety.

Ruan Linrui took a deep breath. Perhaps it was the sadness that was still playing tricks on her. When she saw Zhou Si now, her emotions began to surge in her heart, and the words she had prepared in her mind became a mess.

Fortunately, Li Weiyu appeared at this time and strode over.

"Dr. Zhou."

Li Weiyu nodded as a gesture. He did not ask Zhou Si about his well-being. Li Weiyu understood Zhou Si. Zhou Si did not like these trivial matters. He only cared about the goal he was pursuing.

Zhou Si asked, "What's the situation?"

"It's terrible," Li Weiyun brought the latest news, "even though the incident has been over for a month, the aftermath is still continuing to affect the entire society, and people have serious panic and doubts about the incarnation body." "But the good news is that we don't have to worry about these things," Li Weiyun said with relief when mentioning this, "The Supervisory Bureau and Shenwei Technology will work together to solve these problems, and we just need to focus on our case."

Hearing this answer, Zhou Si immediately put aside the questions that had been accumulating in his mind for a long time.

The purpose of a team is for everyone to do their job, rather than being a control freak who tries to keep everything in his own hands. That will only make everyone feel exhausted, even himself.

Li Weiyun continued, "Huo Daochuan and others are dead, and the relevant clues are gone."

After the Stone Fort was attacked, Huo Daochuan died inside the Stone Fort. Charles buried explosives under the Dream Pool, triggering a series of new explosions. John and von Neumann did the same.

After Charles' bombing, the inspectors activated their armed avatars to raid John's residence. As expected, he had placed explosives in advance, but this time only John himself was killed.

As for von Neumann, something seemed to have gone wrong with the explosives he had placed and they did not trigger properly, so he climbed out of the dream pool and exchanged fire with the inspectors at gunpoint.

After realizing that he was in a desperate situation, von Neumann simply shot himself.

Since then, all participants in the Stone Castle attack have died for various reasons.

Death has no evidence.

"The good news is that the information that Stone Castle has analyzed from Cloud City can still be used. For example, we have traced Madam Cui's mind recognition characteristics, and we can track it based on this."

Li Weiyu's tone gradually became serious, even full of hatred, "It was the clients behind it who facilitated this terrorist attack, and they also provided Huo Daochuan and others with that terrible virus."

Zhou Si thought about it seriously, and then said, "Notify Shibao and send me Madam Cui's mind signature. This avatar body has the ability to assist in cloud computing, so I can track her while I'm on the move."

The ability of cloud-assisted computing is very convenient, just like having an intelligent assistant in his mind. No matter what Zhou Si needs, it can always handle it for him as soon as possible. This is something that mortal flesh and blood has never had.

"But I don't think there's much hope of finding Madam Twilight."

Zhou Si added, "It has caused such a big mess. With Madam Cui's vigilant nature, it must have already escaped. Maybe it is hiding in a secret bunker, waiting for the storm to pass."

He fell silent after he spoke. Ruan Linrui and Li Weiyu waited patiently. They were actually a little uncomfortable with Zhou Si's new body.

As long as Zhou Si had a thought, he could stop his incarnation from expressing his many micro-expressions. The whole person was like wearing a hypocritical mask, making it impossible for ordinary people to see through him.

This made people who were familiar with Zhou Si feel very uncomfortable and uneasy, as if Zhou Si was becoming a stranger bit by bit.

"I'm planning on going to Hidden Alley."

Zhou Si finished thinking and suggested, "Although that place has been cleaned up many times by the Supervisory Bureau, I always feel that I can still find some useful clues there."

Moving his gaze to Li Weiyun, Zhou Si recalled some past events and continued, "Besides, I have a friend there who I need to thank."

Ruan Linrui asked curiously, "What friends?"

"A doctor, just like me."

Hearing Zhou Si's answer, Li Weiyu's mind immediately emerged the final scene of himself and Zhou Si's life-and-death escape that day.

Li Weiyun asked, "Are you talking about Doctor Ji?"

"Yes, Ji Siling, she saved your life."

Speaking of Ji Siling, Zhou Si said uncertainly, "I don't like to owe favors to others. I want to visit this friend, but I may not have the chance in the future."

Seeing the naked worry in the two people's eyes, Zhou Si said again, "Don't worry about me, I'm not here. What's here is just a powerful incarnation. Even if I'm surrounded, I can easily fight my way out."

Li Weiyun asked, "Do you need me to go with you?"

"I can do it alone," Zhou Si advised, "If I go alone, things will be much simpler."

Zhou Si gradually felt the convenience of the incarnation body. In the past, when going to some dangerous places, Zhou Si and Li Weiyu had to travel in a group and be fully armed.

But now it’s different. Zhou Si is enough alone. Even if he is unfortunately attacked by the armed incarnation, he doesn’t have to worry. After all, it’s just a body.

Just a shell.

Zhou Si moved his body out of habit, even though this body of steel would not produce any fatigue.

Muscle fiber bundles fill every part of this body, and powerful force can be released with every move. There is also a pair of deadly shattering swords hidden in the arms, and there are many sensitive reconnaissance systems in the torso and head.

The most important thing is that by relying on this body to fight, Zhou Si does not have to worry about his own safety at all. Therefore, many possibilities that seem extremely dangerous become calm in front of Zhou Si.

"Wait for my good news first."

Zhou Si gave some brief instructions and then turned and left.

He took the elevator directly to the ground level and then ran to the parking lot, where a car was already waiting for Zhou Si.

Although this incarnation body looks no different from a human, it is essentially still a heavy lump of iron. Even though it has great flexibility, many vehicles cannot ride it and it can only be transported around like cargo.

At the same time, in order to alleviate Zhou Si's inexplicable anxiety about battery life, during long journeys, Zhou Si prefers to charge in the car to ensure that his avatar body is always fully charged.

The new body solved many past troubles, but it also brought many new troubles.

If Zhou Si's future life is to be based on this, then these are all he will face.

The rest of my life...

Zhou Si is not an iron man. Even though he has a body of steel, and even though his mental training has made his will strong, he still can't help thinking about pessimistic things.

When you are alone, in the intervals between thoughts.

Zhou Si tried not to think about these things, but customized the navigation to lead himself to the hidden alley.

He needed to be busy, so busy that the only thing on his mind was his goal and nothing else.

(End of this chapter)